“District 9”
*** 1/2
“Go home E.T. Quick!” Might have been the message in this aliens among us ride. Neill Blomkamp’s visceral film follows Wikus van de Merwe (Shartlo Copley), in the days after the bureaucrat was exposed to alien DNA while evicting non-human refugees from a vast shanty town. With its mashup of visual styles (documentary, news reel, straight on action) and its fearless tussle with hot-button issues, “District 9” has the acrid tang of a classic. Time will settle that. But already, newcomer Blomkamp is a director to be reckoned with. R. 1 hour, 55 minutes. Lisa Kennedy
“(500) Days of Summer”
****
Boy meets girl. It seems so simple. Even so in director Marc Webb’s super debut (wondrous screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Webber), it’s 500 days of joy and disaster as Tom and Summer prove how love can be a figment of yearning and utterly real — sometimes at the same moment. Joseph Gordon-Levitt continues to trace the arc of subtle but true stardom. Zooey Deschanel is all eyes and smart talk as she rebuffs romantic nonsense at every turn. PG-13. 1 hour, 36 minutes. Lisa Kennedy
“All About Steve”
** 1/2
Look who’s stalking. In this slight comedy, Sandra Bullock is Mary Horowitz, a crossword puzzle constructor who misses brush-off cues and follows her heart and news cameraman Steve. Bradley Cooper of the incandescent eyes plays the object of Mary’s disconcerting desire. Thomas Haden Church is the field reporter who goads Mary on until disaster strikes. PG-13. 1 hour, 39 minutes. Lisa Kennedy
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